Monday, July 27, 2015

Trip for Film Specialists in January

The Americas Media Initiative (AMI) is organizing a very
specialized delegation in collaboration with Anthropologie Consulting that will
focus on current trends in contemporary Cuban filmmaking.

The trip is
geared toward film programmers and curators, professionals in the film business
and people interested in contemporary Cuban filmmaking and will provide insight
and access normally unavailable to U.S. visitors.

An important focus of
the delegation is to help clarify how the U.S. embargo still impacts Cuban
filmmaking including the complex situation for Cuban independent filmmakers �
who work outside of the traditional Cubban cultural institutions � and their
legal status within Cuba. Aleexandra Halkin, AMI Founding Director along with
Jose Pineda, Director of Anthropologie Consulting will lead the
delegation.

Since President Obama’s announcement last December, AMI has
received numerous requests from U.S. citizens for assistance related to
filmmaking in Cuba. Because of this tsunami of interest, AMI has decided to
organize our first delegation to Cuba.

Due to the close working
relationship AMI has with many filmmakers, delegates will meet one on one with
documentary, and fiction filmmakers, and producers as well as animators and
attend special screenings of their work. A unique aspect of the delegation will
be meeting filmmakers living outside of Havana.

Delegation highlights
include:

Travel to La Conchita, Pinar del Río to meet with youth
who are engaged in a unique community media project, Los ChapuSerios.
The project was initiated with funding from the British Embassy in 2013. Los
ChapuSerios now produce programming for the local TV channel besides their
own community-based work.

Trip to Santa Clara to meet with Harold (Muke)
Diaz-Guzman, a self-taught animator, software designer and university professor
along with his award winning animation collective.

Also in Santa Clara a visit to El Mejunje, a
famous Cuban cultural center known for it’s support of LGBT rights for a
screening of the new short documentary, Mascaras (Masks) about the
lives of Ríubel Alarcón and Pedro Manuel González, two famous Cuban
transformistas (drag queens).

Havana meeting with award winning producer, Claudia
Calvino of Producciones 5ta Avenida (Melaza, Juan of the Dead)
who will discuss how 5ta Avenida functions within the restrictions and
limitations of the US embargo and the lack of legal status within
Cuba.

Visit to the internationally celebrated International
Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, for a tour and
full day of visits and screenings with Cuban faculty and
students.

The delegation will accommodate 15 people so we encourage
people to sign up early. All events and films will be translated to English. For
further information please contact Jose Pineda: jepp23@acjourneys.com
or (786) 955-6660. You can also visit the AC website

Anthropologie Consulting, LLC does extensive work around
Cuba and Cuban culture, both in the U.S. and Cuba. Anthropologie Consulting, LLC
is authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the
Treasury, to organize educational and cultural delegations to Cuba.
Anthropologie Consulting, LLC is registered with the State of Florida as a
Seller of Travel. Registration No. ST38971.